During a fiery NewsNation town hall hosted by disgraced Chris Cuomo live from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., White House border czar Tom Homan completely dismantled ESPN host Stephen A. Smith after Smith criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for wearing masks during operations.
Smith argued that ICE officers should not be allowed to conceal their identities, claiming “law enforcement officials throughout this country don’t get the license to do that.” But Homan quickly hit back with a dose of cold, hard truth.
Homan laid out the brutal reality of what ICE officers face daily: harassment, targeted violence, and death threats simply for enforcing immigration laws.
He torched the hypocrisy of Democrat-led cities that once punished people for not wearing masks during COVID, but now criticize federal agents for using masks to stay alive.
Stephen Smith:
Law enforcement officials throughout this country don’t get the license to do that. They have to walk up to you. They have to identify who they are. They have to make sure it’s clear.An ICE agent getting to conceal their identity is not a privilege or a situation that other law enforcement officials have. Why should ICE agents have that?
Tom Homan:
Look, I don’t particularly like the mask either. But name another law enforcement agency with over a 1000% increase in attacks on them.And name another law enforcement agency whose spouses and children have been doxxed on social media, attacked, and bullied in churches and schools.
These men and women put a gun on their hip and wear a Kevlar vest to go on the streets every day to look for the worst of the worst—making this country safer. Them wearing a mask, if that protects them and protects their families, then that has to be done.
I remember the days in some of these cities when, if you weren’t wearing a mask during COVID, you got reported to the police and arrested for it. These men and women are just trying to protect themselves and their families.
Again, I don’t like the mask. I wish there wasn’t a need for it—but there’s not another law enforcement agency dealing with the attacks that ICE is facing right now.
Look, immigration enforcement—I’ve been doing this since 1984. It’s always been controversial. It’s always been emotional. But people need to remember: the men and women of ICE don’t hang their heart on a hook when they go to work.
They’re mothers and fathers, too. They have children, too. They take very emotional things home with them every day. I’ve done this for over forty years.
WATCH:
STEPHEN A SMITH: ICE getting to conceal their identity is NOT a privilege other law enforcement have. Why should they get to do that?
TOM HOMAN: Name another law enforcement agency that’s over 1,000% attacks on them. Name another law enforcement agency whose spouses and… pic.twitter.com/6IQNvdVzA3
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2025
Homan defended ICE’s operations, revealing that nearly 70% of ICE arrests involve public safety or national security threats, not ordinary migrants.
He also noted that threats against officers have skyrocketed, with bounties up to $50,000 placed on ICE agents by criminal networks.
Homan blasted Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and other Democrat officials who vilify immigration enforcement:
“They hate Trump more than they love the residents of Illinois or Chicago,” Homan said bluntly.
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